a power-packed release schedule greets you this spring Tuesday. Go to the record store, buy some music! Then go frolic in the grass! Well, unless you have to work, In that event, daydream about frolicking in the grass until you can actually do it!
Wait, I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. Frolic in the grass after work. Hopefully, while you’re frolicking, you’ll be listening to one of this week’s new releases, like…
Brad Paisley‘s Wheelhouse: I love Brad Paisley more than I love any other current country musician. The guy’s not forcing himself into a redneck mindset to appeal to “his audience,” his lyrics reveal a sense of humor unlike most country musicians, and the dude plays the living shit out of his guitar. While I dig my fair amount of modern country (McGraw, Swift, Zac Brown Band,) Paisley is the only one of those guys that I would buy an album buy without hearing a word. True point: I know nothing about this album. But I’m buying it.
James Blake: I haven’t given James Blake a fair shot, I guess. I listened to his last record and didn’t see what the fuss words. His new album, Overgrown, contains production by Brian Eno. This is a big plus, but I don’t know if it’ll get the “soul music for hipsters who have no appreciation for what soul music is” label out of my head. I guess we’ll see.
Dawes are awesome? Is awesome? Are awesome. Their records, as good as they are, don’t hold a candle to their live performances, but that’s only to say their concerts are transcendant and their albums are merely great. 2011’s Nothing is Wrong, in particular, boasted a series of songs (“Fire Away,” “How Far We’ve Come,” “A Little Bit of Everything”) that are just as good as songs by the acts that have influenced Dawes-everyone from The Band to Tom Petty. Stories Don’t End is the name of the California band’s third album, and based on what I’ve heard of it, it’s gonna be a pretty solid album. Check the guys from Dawes on tour with Bob Dylan this spring.
After what seems like an eternity, Paramore is back. Even though, much like their direct antecedents Evanescence, Paramore is now Hayley Williams and a bunch of hired guns. The band was last active 3 or 4 years ago, which is a pretty damn long time when your main audience is teenage girls. Then again, when you consider that lady rock heroes are few and far between, where are their fans going to go? Shit, Avril Lavigne still has a career. At any rate, their new, self-titled album is also one of this week’s key new releases.
Also out this week:
-Cheech & Chong (the soundtrack to their new animated movie)
-Eric Church (Live)
-Device (David Draiman of Disturbed is the lead singer)
-Drowning Pool
-Boney James
-The Knife
-OMD
-Todd Rundgren
-Stone Sour
Get the full list of this week’s new releases here.
-Tyga